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Traditional electronic devices work by moving charge around a circuit. This
has produced astounding results over the last half century, but we are now at a
point where further reducing the size of circuit elements is difficult because
it would create too much heat in too small a space.

The Hirjibehedin Research Group
is studying magnetic molecules to understand how they can be used to make the
smallest possible “spintronic” devices, in which charge (electronic) and spin
(magnetic) properties can be used together. In the future, this would allow us
to make devices that can do more and also use less energy.

As a simple example, we may be able to use the magnetic orientation
of one molecule (the direction in which its internal compass needle
points) to store a single bit (0 or 1) of information: this would
potentially increase the storage density on hard drives by 100x.

Using a special kind of microscope called a scanning tunneling microscope, or
STM, and operating it close to the absolute zero of temperature (-273 Celsius)
we are able to study the magnetic properties of individual molecules.

Many of a molecule’s magnetic properties are determined by how it binds
(sticks) to the surface. For example, a group in Japan found that the magnetic
stability energy of a molecule could change by 50% just by a 15˚ rotation in
its binding angle.

It is therefore crucial for us to measure the distribution of binding angles of
a particular molecule on a given surface. This will allow us to compare our
results with theoretical predictions to better understand their properties. But
getting accurate data on this means measuring thousands of images, which is
tremendously time-consuming for our small team. That’s where you come in …

Based on the average of estimates by several volunteers like you, we hope to
extract new information about the subtle ways that molecules interact with the
surfaces they are stuck to, and how this affects their magnetic properties. Our
data will be made openly available after we have analyzed it, and we will
gladly acknowledge the volunteers in any publications that result from your
efforts. We also hope you will enjoy this chance to explore a beautiful
phenomenon from the nanoworld!

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